Keeping Focus with Growth Allows You to Keep Customers

One of my material pleasures in life is watches. Time pieces you wear on your wrist. And one of my favorite brands is/was Fossil. I say is/was because I'm not sure where I sit on that at the moment. You see, Fossil has expanded to feature a lot more apparel and messenger bags, among other accessories. This wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing except for one thing: they've lost focus.

I receive emails from Fossil at least once a month and more often than not, the email features their watches less and less and their other stuff more and more. Watches are where Fossil really started. Their expansion into apparel has made them more like the Gap and less like themselves. Not that I have anything against the Gap. But the Gap has always been about selling apparel. Whatever other lines they've expanded into (such as cologne / perfume), they've done so in a way that doesn't take away their focus from their primary line of business (apparel). Fossil, however, has alienated me. Their decline and lack of really cool watches over the past few years demonstrates that while they're focusing on the apparel side of things, they've all but abandoned the watch line. As a consumer, this has made me look at other brands on a similar or better level. Sure, I'm just one consumer, but I'm sure there are others that feel the same way.

My point here isn't about what Fossil has done to me. What this really is about is a company's growth/expansion affecting its brand in a negative manner. I don't know what kind of sales Fossil has had in the past 5 years, but it matters little. What they've done is left what was once their cornerstone product to become less than great - the very product that made them a cool company. In this loss of focus, they can now be lumped together with all the Gap, Express, Abercrombie stores. That can't be a good move when it comes to your brand. Unfortunately it happens all the time. Companies start out with a killer product or service. Some years down the road as they become more successful, they add a new product or service and end up neglecting their flagship product/service. They may continue to do well but they have probably alienated and lost a large segment of their customers that helped them get to where they are in the first place. This does little for brand loyalty.

I'm all for growth and expansion. Just don't make the same mistake Fossil has made.